PAOLO DI Canio believes the love and support he received from his parents played a major part in pushing him on to lead Swindon Town to the League Two title.

Both Di Canio’s mother and father passed away during a tough season off the pitch for the Italian, and both their names were added to the end of season roll call read out by interim chairman Jeremy Wray before the start of Saturday’s 5-0 victory over Port Vale.

The emphatic victory made sure of the title in front of a packed County Ground, and when the trophy was presented Di Canio wore a t-shirt in tribute to his late parents on what was a day of celebration tinged with sadness.

“They would say they were proud of me I am sure,” Di Canio said.

“They would be smiling I know, because my dad especially did not spend a lot of words.

“But I look in his eyes you should see sadness or happiness, and my mum is the same.

“It is obvious during this season the determination I have came from my players because they worked very hard for me, but in terms of motivation outside the field in my job my parents were amazing.

“Before my mum passed away I looked at her suffering every day but she did not say anything, she just tried to support us.

“She tried to look after us and said ‘wear a jacket because you will feel cold’ and other things, so how can you not have the energy to keep going and do something special for them?”

Di Canio also believes the memory of his parents will motivate him for the rest of his life, both on and off the pitch.

“The memories you have of the people who live on this earth is stronger than their death,” he added.

“It is obvious you do not see them anymore, but I discovered in the last eight months that the memories, the smiling and the bad moments and the dedication since you were a kid is stronger than the death.

“They can take away the bodies but not the memories and you smile, and I have an extra motivation for my future to be a better person and keep going in my job because I want to be a good person and a good manager for my parents.”